Max Verstappen achieved his 10th podium in the 2026 Formula 1 season at Austin, marking his sixth consecutive podium finish since the incident at Zandvoort. Although this is a remarkable achievement, it did not quite bring him satisfaction at the Circuit of the Americas.
During Saturday, the speed seemed promising for a potential pole position, particularly demonstrated by Verstappen’s standout Q2 lap, yet he unexpectedly lost grip during Q3. Despite showing good race pace in practice, he noted that several minor issues contributed to his struggles during the race.
“It was rather frustrating, to be honest; it wasn’t really a great race for us,” Verstappen stated during the post-race press conference.
How Red Bull’s recent performance turned into challenges in Austin
Much of this frustration arises from ongoing issues that have affected Red Bull recently, along with race-specific decisions that ultimately didn’t pay off.
“In hindsight, it’s easy to critique, but for reasons unknown, the softer compounds just didn’t perform well today. Additionally, I believe our tyre usage strategy was flawed, particularly in the way we ordered the stints,” Verstappen continued.
“At one stage, it became evident that drivers on the harder compounds were experiencing significant grip, and it seems we failed to react adequately. We were perhaps a bit too committed to the outcomes from the last two races, where the softer compounds yielded the best results. But clearly, that did not apply here.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images
In the recent race weekends, effective management of the softer tyres had been an area where Red Bull excelled. The RB22 had shown strong performance in maintaining these tyres within the optimal temperature range, but that was not the case in Austin, as confirmed by team principal Laurent Mekies after the event.
Verstappen expressed his concerns over the radio regarding power unit issues, and the team’s response included suggestions regarding engine braking techniques.
“Aside from the strategy, we encountered numerous inconsistencies with the power unit, leading to unpredictable behaviour around the turns. Each lap and corner presented a different experience,” Verstappen noted.
“This inconsistency prevents you from establishing a rhythm and achieving any level of consistency in driving. Additionally, a slow pit stop compounded our difficulties today, resulting in an overall experience of too many things that just didn’t go right.”
Ongoing challenges persist for Red Bull
While the aforementioned strategy and power unit difficulties were unique to this race, two persistent challenges for Red Bull throughout the season are communication issues and subpar starts. Regarding the latter, Verstappen pointed out that his start in Austin was not particularly poor but rather reflective of Red Bull’s overall average this season, which has been consistently lacking.
“I didn’t lose any positions, so it wasn’t catastrophic. My start was typical, just consistently below expectations,” Verstappen remarked, unsatisfied with the need to censor himself during the FIA press conference.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Issues with radio communication have also become a frequent challenge. In Singapore, Verstappen’s regular race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, was unable to hear him, requiring a switch to coded messages. Afterward, Mekies indicated that Red Bull is seeking effective solutions, but those solutions evidently were not implemented in Austin.
At the highly uneven Circuit of the Americas, both Hadjar and Verstappen faced communication difficulties with the team. In Verstappen’s instance, he was unable to hear Tom Hart, who was filling in as his race engineer for the weekend to develop their working relationship going forward.
“This isn’t a one-time incident. I’ve lost track of how many times this has occurred this year. Perhaps we should consider using sign language! It might even be more cost-effective,” Verstappen joked.
“But honestly, it’s a mess. It’s genuinely frustrating, to be real.”
Ultimately, these combined setbacks prevented Red Bull from fully harnessing the potential of the RB22 in Texas. Team members recognize that Kimi Antonelli had a performance advantage, but Verstappen’s main frustration arises from the fact that Red Bull fell short of the targets they had set.
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– The Autosport.com Team
